On Saturday, we drove the five hours to Cosby Creek Campground in the Smoky Mountain National Park. It was to be our first 4-night family camping trip. We got a late start--not leaving home until about 11:45 (partly due to needing to water the yard plants so much before leaving).
The kids behaved very well on the drive: minimal fighting and whining. Zac spotted a bear next to the highway as we drove, and Simon and Sera also saw it. Alice didn't look in time.
We arrived at our campsite (B92) around 5:30, after a few traffic jams and pit stops. Zac and I decided he should put up the green tarp first, given that it looked like it could rain any minute. He got it up just in time-- we were soon hit with a torrential downpour. The tarp itself held up fine, but the supports weren't set up for buckets of rain and so we had to keep emptying the tarp and holding it up until the rain stopped enough for Zac to secure it to the surrounding trees instead of just the poles. It was a fun little adventure. We're used to camping in the rain by now, and as long as it isn't cold, we remain mostly undaunted.
